Christopher Hanewinckel / USA Today Sports
Tannehill, Two Others Placed on IR
NASHVILLE – Any hope that Ryan Tannehill could find a way to play the Tennessee Titans’ regular-season finale at Jacksonville or in the postseason is gone.
Tannehill was one of three players the Titans placed on injured reserve Thursday ahead of their prime-time matchup with the Dallas Cowboys at Nissan Stadium.
Outside linebacker Bud Dupree and inside linebacker Zach Cunningham also were placed on injured reserve and are done for the season.
In related moves, outside linebacker Sam Okuayinonu, inside linebacker Andre Smith and running back Jonathan Ward were signed to the active roster from the practice squad. Additionally, offensive lineman Zack Johnson and defensive lineman Jayden Peevy were designated standard elevations from the practice squad and will be available to play against the Cowboys.
With Tannehill, Dupree and and left tackle Taylor Lewan, who sustained a season-ending knee injury in Week 2, all on injured reserve, the Titans (7-8) will finish this season without the three players who have their highest salary cap numbers. Combined, those three account for just shy of $72.5 million in cap space, which is more than one-third of this season’s overall cap.
Tannehill, whose number was a whopping $38.6 million, played six straight games twice before ankle injuries befell him. He missed two contests beginning in late October the first time he was hurt, and now will miss the final three as a result of a reoccurrence in the recent loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, a game he finished.
Tennessee went 6-6 with him in charge of the offense.
Dupree has not played more than five games in a row in the two seasons since he signed with Tennessee as a free agent in 2021, a deal that carries a $19.2 million cap number this season. He missed four games early this season because of on-again, off-again issues with a hip injury. A pectoral injury kept him out of practice this week and ultimately ended his season.
He has played 11 games in each of his two campaigns with the Titans. His 18 tackles, four sacks, 33 quarterback pressures and six tackles for loss in 2022 are all slight improvements over the previous year.
Lewan, whose cap number was $14.693 million, played just one game and one snap before his season ended.
Cunningham restructured his deal with Tennessee in March in order to free up some salary cap space. He counts just under $4 million this season but has played just six games because of an elbow injury that has been an issue since Week 3.
